NHTSA Opens Defect Investigation into Honda Odyssey for Defective Airbags

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration ("NHTSA") has reportedly opened a defect investigation into the airbag system of some 320,000 2003 - 2004 Honda Odyssey minivans.  The question?  Whether the minivans should be recalled for spontaneous deployment of the airbags.

Reports indicate that NHTSA has received 6 complaints of spontaneous airbag deployment from 6 owners of 2003-2004 Honda Odyssey minivans, resulting in 3 injuries.  Reportedly, the airbags in these vehicles deployed when the vehicles were in operation, but not involved in a collision.  NHTSA has also reportedly received an additional 41 consumer complaints alleging that their vehicle's airbag light illuminated. 

Airbag problems are not new for Honda.  In fact, recent airbag recalls for Honda involved 426,000 2001-2003 Honda Civics, 43,000 2002-2003 Honda CR-Vs, and 92,000 2002 Honda Odyssey minivans.  For more information regarding these recalls, or to access these recalls online click here, and enter the year, make, and model of vehicle. 

But Honda is not the only auto manufacturer dealing with airbag problems recently.  In fact, Toyota, Nissan, Mazda, Chrysler, General Motors, and BMW were all involved in a recall of over 3 million vehicles worldwide earlier this year.  In October, 2012, Chrysler recalled more than 920 vehicles worldwide relating to improper airbag deployments in 2002-2003 Jeep Liberty SUVs and 2002-2004 Jeep Grand Cherokees.  In January, 2013, Toyota recalled almost 900,000 vehicles relating to improper airbag deployments in 2003-2004 Toyota Corolla/Matrix and Pontiac Vibe vehicles.  General Motors has also recalled about 7,000 vehicles and NHTSA is currently investigating whether some additional 400,000 2012 Chevrolet Camaros, Cruzes, and Sonics and Buick Veranos should be included in the airbag recall. 

The root of the problem amongst all of these manufacturers?  All of these auto manufacturers use airbag supplier, Takata Corp.  And, the current defect investigations and recalls reveal how tied together the industry is when it comes to airbags, and how widespread the impact can be to consumers when a single supplier has a component defect.

If you have a vehicle impacted by a recent airbag recall or defect investigation and you are getting the run around at the dealership, or have had problems with your airbag that are still not fixed, then your should consider talking to a consumer law attorney in your state. You may be able to get out of an unsafe vehicle yet!  Click here for a free online 50 state list of consumer law attorneys.

Beth Wells

www.BurdgeLaw.com

Helping Consumers Get Rid of Lemons, 9 Years Running